Son's BO

[Meduse05]

Hi there,
My 14 yr old son has very strong body odour. It was already commented on by some teachers last year and I talked to him about his hygiene. He took it on board and showers every morning and puts on deodrant but forgets to reapply it at school, after PE, etc. The BO is therefore really strong when I pick him up but he doesn't smell it on himself. Is there a strong deodrant someone can recommend (he uses lynx). I'm not sure what else to do so any advice much appreciated.

My DS is 21 now and still uses Shield soap, has since puberty. It's very good and is deodorising. Then he uses Sanex roll on for men.

Got soap and mitchum today so fingers crossed!

Good luck hope it helps bless him x

Ah yes, stinky teenage boys , yep , I feel your pain. My loving mum comments of ‘you stink , have a shower’. Eldest has just left for uni and so reminded him to make sure he has a shower every morning and use deodorant! DS2 never wanted a shower every day so I’ve had to force him. Better now, but I still have to remind him sometimes . A good antiperspirant deodorant after a morning shower is fine I’ve found and obviously a fresh school shirt each morning.

Until the smell is sorted out in the long term he needs to

*Shave his armpit hair
*Shower twice a day - in the morning and straight on arrival from school
*Use actual proper bar of soap rather than shower gel
*Make himself show you how he washes to check he knows how to wash properly and get him pair of those exfoliating gloves to use with soap

• Sheets changed weekly *Towels changed twice a week *Fresh clothing each day and he learns to do his laundry *Be told as soon as he starts to whiff and sent to have a shower
• Every article of his washed with biological soap

You might find this useful to show him.
www.lynxformen.com/uk/inspiration/culture/learn-about-body-odour-causes.html
Teens really don’t always understand exactly why washing properly is vital....using soap!

So glad you are doing something about it! My DB is now in his 30s and just learned to shower this year. My mum and dad never spoke to him about it and he just wasnt interested. He would have a shower and still come down stinking. It was only this year when he started getting some fungal skin issues in his hair that I'm pretty sure a health professional had a proper chat with him about hygiene. No way would I allow it to get to that stage with my DS.

So glad I posted here because the ideas really helped. DS did a running challenge at weekend and smelt fine after! We ditched the lynx, got tar soap and mitchum. The difference so far is amazing! Thanks everyone for your tips. I showed him this as well and think it finally hit home. No more stinking car journies!

Aww that's really good to hear glad you're both feeling better now

Excellent news. Re laundry for both Dh's shirts and school shirts I add Dettol Laundry into the wash, it sadly goes into the softner compartment but I still add a bit of softner, and it helps prevent those sweaty pits building up in the shirt fabric.

Re showering, my sons have always had body puffs from Body Shop which helps scrub their pits.

Vinegar on the shirt pits! Honestly, it neutralises the stink.

Glad it's worked for him!

The reason that the strong anti perspirants need to be applied at night is to properly block the sweat glands. The idea is that it sits on the skin overnight and gets a chance to work- applying them in the day when you are sweating more means it's just washed away.

Trust deodorant is pretty good- that prevents the stinky bacteria. So if you apply strong anti perspirants some nights, then Trust on other nights it will tackle the sweating and the smell making bacteria.

Just make sure he keeps up with it! I have changed to soap and I noticed a real difference in sweatiness- shower gel doesn't seem to shift it! But the key is to lather up really well, rinse and then do it again.

My DS is 12 and I have a note on his wardrobe reminding him to use deodorant before he puts on a clean shirt!
Teenage boys are funny things.. its actually his hair that smells more than his armpits and have returned him to the shower when I know he has just stood under the water!!
I gave been known to supervise his washing but cannot do that for much longer...

If he is showering properly and apply deodorant, he shouldn’t need to reapply at school. He must make sure he puts if on as soon as he’s clean and dry for the deodorant to be effective. Good advice from other posters, clean shirts etc.